No Age and Male Bonding on UK tour

Five reasons to see Sub Pop's finest noisemongers

For flying the good flag Sub Pop.Seattle’s indie institution upturned popular culture via grunge kings Nirvana back in the day, but it’s LA duo No Age and London trio Male Bonding (plus, of course, new US signings Mogwai) who best represent Sub Pop’s commitment to 21st century, first-class noisemongery.

For their DIY format fetishism.Rummage through the back-catalogues of No Age and Male Bonding and delight in a tactile, ear-blasting host of cassettes and 7” singles: hard-to-find slates they’ve respectively shared with the likes of Liars and the Dum Dum Girls. But hey, they’re not averse to commercial necessity: current albums Everything in Between (No Age) and Nothing Hurts (Male Bonding) are even available on CD…

For ‘Tinnitus: and a hook.Therein lies the gospel according to Male Bonding – a band whose harmonic punk-pop and uproarious riffage is unleashed at breakneck speed. Said manifesto, however, could similarly be applied to the dynamic (and increasingly kaleidoscopic) post-punk pummelled by No Age.

For ‘Songs that we would be psyched to listen to.The No Age mission statement, meanwhile, reflects the fuzz-pop voyagers’ ear for a discernible (if regularly brutal, deafening and effects-laden) tune – their hardcore punk and DIY ideologies are expressed via skewed, nostalgic indie-rock and melodic blare. Male Bonding’s virtuosic, kamikaze chorales would also hold up to such aesthetic scrutiny.

For the best names in showbiz.Is there a better named rock ‘n’ roll duo than No Age’s Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt? We thought not.